- Faster, Pussycat! Annual Fundraiser!
Hey, everyone …
Today is NOT a “Firehose Friday” at the freedom movement’s daily newspaper — we’ve got full 60-item email/social media editions for you. But we also have EXTRA content (another 20+ news stories, opinion pieces, and audio/video links) for you here at the web edition.
Yesterday was a “zero-dollar day” in our annual fundraiser. Our total remains at $1,151.50.
Our goal is $5,503. Once we’ve raised the first half ($2,751.50), supporter GL has pledged to “match funds” for the other half. We’re $1,600 short of — only 41% of the way to — the goal.
This weekend, help us out with a “great leap forward” to the $1,500 mark. If we raise $348.50 between now and Monday, we’ll be at $1,500 (and 54% of the way home). So …
PLEASE SUPPORT RRND/FND!
… and then have a happy, healthy, and prosperous weekend!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily - Paraguay: President tries to quit, parliament insists on impeachment
Source: Brussels Signal [Belgium]
“Paraguay’s President has tried to resign over the collapse of a digital bank that left millions of depositors unable to reach their money. Lawmakers have refused to let him go. Santiago Peña announced his resignation yesterday in a video posted on social media. He said he was acting for the sake of the country’s stability, social peace and its democratic institutions, and apologised to Paraguayans for any failings on his part. Minutes later the Chamber of Deputies voted 78-0 to impeach him, sending the case to the Senate. It shelved a parallel motion against Vice President Pedro Alliana, who is next in line. A joint session of Congress called to accept the resignation then collapsed. … A president who steps down normally becomes a senator for life with immunity from prosecution, a status that removal from office would strip away.” (11/06/26)
- CA: Newsom commutes all of state’s death sentences
Source: NBC News
“Gov. Gavin Newsom commuted all California death sentences on Thursday, declaring that ‘state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with’ values in America’s most populous state. In an open letter to constituents, Newsom said taking this step is ‘among the most difficult of my career.’ ‘I take this action because I firmly believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values,’ he said. California has not put a prisoner to death since Jan. 17, 2006 when Clarence Ray Allen was put to death via lethal injection.” (11/05/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-gov-gavin-newsom-commutes-death-sentences-rcna607727
- Massie Gives Hegseth a Choice: Resignation or Impeachment
Source: Common Dreams
“Republican US Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky said Wednesday that Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth, the most prominent cheerleader and architect of the Trump administration’s illegal war on Iran, will face an impeachment vote in the House of Representatives – unless he submits his resignation first. ‘There is one contingency in which I won’t reintroduce the articles of impeachment: Hegseth resigns,’ Massie, who unveiled eight impeachment articles against the Pentagon secretary in September, wrote following Democrats’ rout of the GOP in Tuesday’s midterm elections. Massie is expected to force a vote on the articles (which accuse Hegseth of extrajudicial killings, waging wars without congressional authorization, and kidnapping a sovereign foreign leader) as soon as next week.” (11/05/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/pete-hegseth-impeachment-massie-2678297497
- Nigeria: Court nullifies presidential contender’s candidacy two months before election
Source: Associated Press
“A Nigerian court disqualified a leading presidential candidate Thursday, complicating the electoral process two months before the election. A Federal High Court judge in Abuja, the country’s capital, ruled that the leadership of the African Democratic Congress, one of the three major parties contesting the January 2027 election, was illegally constituted and therefore voided the candidacy of Atiku Abubakar. Earlier in the year, a court ordered the party deregistered for failing to meet constitutional requirements, but an appeals court overturned the ruling. The party and government critics say the case was orchestrated by the ruling party.” (11/05/26)
https://apnews.com/article/nigeria-election-atiku-abubakar-court-e37403f0930a889b9e48b4e93eca2fd3
- Melania Trump calls for peace at meeting with Russian, Ukrainian officials
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“United States First Lady Melania Trump has urged Russia and Ukraine to build on a recent localised ceasefire and seek a more ‘enduring’ peace, as she hosted officials from both countries at the White House. Melania Trump spoke on Thursday at an event that the White House said is believed to be ‘the first time in American history that a First Lady has personally brought representatives of two nations at war to the White House for diplomacy’. Those attending included Kirill Dmitriev, a special envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin; Yana Lantratova, Russia’s human rights commissioner; David Arakhamia, leader of the Servant of the People party in Ukraine’s parliament; and Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s parliamentary human rights commissioner.” (11/05/26)
- Israel: Joint List says it will back Eisenkot to form next regime
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“The Joint List alliance of Arab-led parties says it will back Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to form a new government after last week’s election. ‘The Joint List announced today, Thursday, that it will inform the President of the State, Isaac Herzog, this evening of its decision to recommend that Gadi Eisenkot be tasked with forming the government,’ the alliance said in a statement. Arab-led parties won a record 19 seats in Israel’s 120-seat parliament in last week’s general election, a result that could give them significant influence over the formation of the next government. Once the Joint List’s 11 lawmakers formally submit their recommendation, Eisenkot is expected to have the backing of 67 lawmakers, exceeding the 61-seat majority threshold in the Knesset.” (11/05/26)
- CA: Raman defeats Bass to become next LA mayor
Source: Los Angeles Times
“Nithya Raman will be the next mayor of Los Angeles, making her the first challenger to defeat an incumbent L.A. mayor in more than two decades. Mayor Karen Bass called Raman Thursday to concede the race, after the latest tally from Tuesday’s election showed Raman with 52% of the vote compared to 48% for Bass, with 76% of the expected votes counted. … Raman and Bass were locked in a tight and contentious race up until election day, with final polling in the race showing the second-term council member and the incumbent mayor each with support from 40% of Angelenos while 19% of the electorate remained undecided. But a blue wave across the country that toppled Republicans in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives buoyed Raman’s campaign against Bass from the left.” (11/05/26)
- UK: Brand Found Guilty of Rape and Sexual Assault
Source: Variety
“Russell Brand, the former actor and comedian, was convicted Thursday on three counts of sexual assault and one count of rape in his London criminal trial. He was found not guilty of two other rape charges and a count of attempted indecent assault. … the judge denied the application to extend bail and remanded him into custody until Monday, when he will return to receive his sentence. In the U.K., a rape conviction can result in up to 19 years in prison and potentially even a life sentence, depending on the seriousness of the offense. The maximum sentence for sexual assault is 10 years.” (11/05/26)
https://variety.com/2026/tv/global/russell-brand-verdict-guilty-rape-sexual-assault-1236937565/
- US Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Fall To 189,000
Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment slipped to a 57-year last week as layoffs remained low against the backdrop of a resilient labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 189,000 for the week ended October 31, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 196,000 claims for the latest week. Claims matched the 189,000 level touched in mid-July, which was the lowest reading since 1969. They have stayed mostly below 200,000 since mid-September.” (11/05/26)
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/national/article317939510.html
- Bank of England hikes interest rate for the first time since Iran war, warns inflation will near 5%
Source: CNBC
“The Bank of England announced its first interest rate hike in over three years on Thursday, as it raised its key rate by 25 basis points to 4%. The widely anticipated move marked the bank’s first hike since Aug. 2023, and made it the last major central bank to embark on a tightening cycle since the U.S. and Israel went to war with Iran eight months ago. The majority of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted for the quarter-point hike, with the motion passing by 8 votes to 1. The dissenting member voted to raise the bank’s key interest rate by 50 basis points to 4.25%.” (11/05/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/05/interest-rates-inflation-uk.html
- Bomb threats target at least 12 more European flights
Source: Politico
“At least 12 European flights were targeted by bomb threats Thursday, following seven similar incidents earlier in the week in which authorities found no explosives. … The risk of someone successfully smuggling a bomb aboard an airplane is low, said Jan-Arwed Richter, CEO of JACDEC, an aviation-safety analysis firm.” (11/05/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/more-european-flights-targeted-by-bomb-threats
- SCOTUS: Alito reiterates he’s not retiring, is committed through end of current term
Source: Fox News
“Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito confirmed to Fox News that he has no plans to retire and is committed through at least the current term, which is set to end in late June. Alito made the statement Thursday amid speculation about the future of the Supreme Court after a disastrous GOP performance in the midterm elections. When the new congressional term begins in January, Democrats will be in firm control of the Senate, with predictions, including from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, that this will not change for at least six years. That would make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for President Donald Trump to fill any potential vacancy with a conservative after this year. After Justice Clarence Thomas, 78, Alito is the oldest member of the Supreme Court at 76 years old.” (11/05/26)
- Trump urges Congress to pass daylight saving bill after “ridiculous” early sunset
Source: The Hill
“President Trump on Wednesday called on Congress to pass the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent, after the day’s ‘ridiculous’ early sunset. ‘Too bad the Senate has not yet approved the Sunshine Protection Act or, the ‘I Don’t Want to Change My Clocks Anymore Act,” he wrote on Truth Social. ‘It’s so dark outside, so early (Sunset was 5:06 P.M., and it was dark by 5:31 P.M. — Isn’t that ridiculous?). Just a few days ago it was so nice and sunny at this same time.’ Trump has been a big proponent of the bill, which the House passed earlier this year but the Senate has yet to pick it up. The bill would end the semiannual clock change.” (11/04/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6199783-trump-calls-congress-daylight-saving/
- Shares in Musk’s SpaceX plunge as tech and AI stocks fall
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Shares in Elon Musk’s SpaceX have plunged as tech and artificial intelligence stocks more broadly plummeted a day after the Democrats swept to victory in the midterms. Those losses dragged the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite stock index down, which had fallen by more than 5% at one point in early trading. The market has been reacting to possible tougher scrutiny of data centre construction and the artificial intelligence (AI) industry following Democrat wins in key data centre states including Texas. Following the election, some tech leaders have acknowledged they need to improve their communication around data centres and the benefits of AI. SpaceX shares were down more than 7% in early trading on Thursday, while Tesla shares dropped more than 9%.” (11/05/26)
- Hong Kong: Political prisoner’s sentence extended by ten years
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Jailed Hong Kong opposition activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung has been sentenced to 10 years behind bars for his role in a global campaign to instigate sanctions against mainland China and the city in the aftermath of the 2019 anti-government protests. The High Court ruled on Thursday that Wong and fugitive ex-lawmaker Nathan Law Kwun-chung had partly contributed to the imposition of sanctions and adverse measures against mainland and Hong Kong officials which significantly undermined national security. The 30-year-old, who earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, had been scheduled to complete a sentence of four years and eight months for conspiracy to commit subversion on January 7 next year.” (11/05/26)
- Kenya: Death toll rises to eight in Nairobi collapsed building tragedy after more bodies found
Source: SFGate
“Six bodies were retrieved from the debris of a building in Kenya’s capital on Thursday, two weeks after the deadly collapse, bringing the confirmed death toll to eight as police said recovery operations were nearing completion. Sixteen people are still believed to be missing since the building fell on Oct. 23. Four people were rescued alive from the 18-story building, which collapsed along a busy commercial street in Nairobi, while its upper floors were still under construction. The ground and basement floors had been rented out to businesses, including an electronics shop, a grocery store, a textile shop and a butchery. Nairobi County Gov. Johnson Sakaja said the building had not been approved for construction and that the renting out of the completed floors was also illegal.” (11/05/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/death-toll-rises-to-5-in-nairobi-collapsed-22513512.php
- US regime sanctions Indian and Turkish firms accused of helping Iran
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“The United States has imposed sanctions on companies and individuals in India and Turkiye that it accuses of helping Iran get around restrictions on its oil exports and its airlines. The US Department of the Treasury said on Wednesday that the measures target a ‘vast criminal network’ run by Suniel Kumar Sharma and his wife, Jaspreet Preeti Shahid, who are based in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh. Two other Indian nationals who head the couple’s businesses and nine entities linked to Sharma were also sanctioned. According to the Treasury, the couple falsely claimed to represent the maritime authorities of countries including Guyana, Eswatini and Laos.” (11/05/26)
- Sources: Harmeet Dhillon set to resign as top DOJ civil rights official
Source: New York Post
“Department of Justice civil rights chief Harmeet Dhillon plans to resign as soon as Thursday after the GOP took a shellacking in the 2026 midterm elections, sources familiar with the situation told The Post. Dhillon, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment, has helmed the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division since April 2025, handling the Trump administration’s probes of US universities, hate crimes at houses of worship and election integrity efforts. The civil rights chief told ‘Pod Force One’ host Miranda Devine in December that she was proud to oversee ‘the biggest single personnel self-purge in DOJ history.’ Nearly 70% of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division workforce quit, either over differences with the administration or in response to offers of payouts from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) payouts.” (11/05/26)
- The Pitt and ER are similar enough for lawsuit to proceed, judge rules
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“US drama ‘The Pitt’ is similar enough to medical series ‘ER’ for a lawsuit against its producers to progress, a court in the US has ruled. The widow of Michael Crichton, who created ‘ER’, argues ‘The Pitt’ is effectively a reboot of the series, which has been made without proper permission or credit. Sherri Crichton says her husband’s contract included a ‘frozen rights’ provision that prohibited any spin-offs, sequels or reboots of ER being made without his express consent. A three-judge panel said there are ‘clear and numerous similarities between The Pitt and ER’, which means the case can go ahead. Warner Bros previously described the lawsuit as ‘baseless’ and sought to have it dismissed. Listing the similarities between the two shows, the court cited the emergency room setting, the fast pace, use of medical jargon, graphic depictions of injuries, and younger doctors fresh from medical school being trained.” (11/05/26)
- The Boogeyman Ballot
Source: Libertarian Party
by Rob Yates“Two tribes, one reflex. When we are frightened, the person who chooses differently stops being a neighbor and becomes the threat. Every uniparty election campaign in America is built to harvest it. Politics learned the curfew lesson long ago. Fear travels faster than facts, and every cycle brings a new creature under the bed with a party beside it holding a flashlight and a donation link.” (11/05/26)
- We Don’t Need Politicians to Make it So
Source: Garrison Center
by Joel Schlosberg“The ultimate testament to [Patrick] Stewart’s acting skill is that he made it hard not to suspend disbelief, one hour at a time, in what [Ryan] Zickgraf calls ‘authority with authoritarianism apparently filtered out.’ In the real world, we have what we need to exclude authoritarians from getting in the way of getting things done.” (11/05/26)
- The Rule of Law Will Sometimes Be Unjust. Defend It Anyway.
Source: Liberalism.org
by Michael Burger“Rules of law can never always produce justice. That’s because life really is complicated. The facts that pertain to doing true justice are unpredictable. Inevitably, even the best-designed rules of law will sometimes get it wrong, with unjust results. When that happens, the law will be an ass. So in a perfectly just world we need sometimes to ignore rules of law. We need a government, or at least agents of government (in other words, judges) who will take into account all of the truly pertinent facts, not just the facts that rules of law say are pertinent. We need a government, in other words, that is not bound by the law, to really deliver justice in a way that the law cannot. Now medieval intellectuals had a term for a ruler unbound by law: a tyrant.” (11/05/26)
https://liberalism.org/essays/the-rule-of-law-will-sometimes-be-unjust-defend-it-anyway
- Hungary’s Lesson: Beware the Dangers of Socialism
Source: The American Conservative
by Doug Bandow“With ever more Americans bizarrely rating ‘socialism’ favorably today, we should remember the high price paid by Hungarians to escape real socialism. Hungary’s tortured history reminds us of the fragility of liberty. Tragically, the Hungarian people lost their battle for freedom 70 years ago. However, their loss planted seeds for the ultimate destruction of Moscow’s satellite system and Europe’s liberation from communism.” (11/05/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/hungarys-lesson-beware-the-dangers-of-socialism/
- Could a rogue clerk bollix House control on Jan. 3? It’s not quite that simple.
Source: The Hill
by Don Wolfensberger“In a recent op-ed, President Bill Clinton’s former Treasury Secretary, Robert E. Rubin, startled me with bizarre twist on potential electoral manipulation. Like others before him, Rubin boldly suggests that President Trump and his allies could also exploit ‘a procedural loophole involving the Clerk of the House that could enable them to refuse to seat duly elected Democratic members when the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3.’ … In the 19th century, the office of clerk was highly partisan, and there were several instances in which clerks simply refused to call the names of certain members thereby blocking their being sworn and seated.” (11/05/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/6198772-clerk-loophole-house-election/
- History Has Spoken Again
Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis“Contrary to what we seem to think, Americans are not intrinsically or constitutionally superior to other human beings who have walked on this planet. Our country had the extremely good fortune of being founded by brilliant men who tried to establish principles that would guide the nation into freedom, virtue, and prosperity. But Americans, suffering from the same faults and foibles all humans suffer from, have rejected those principles. … Eventually, all nations, peoples, and tribes weaken or disintegrate entirely. How many Babylonians do you work with? Any Assyrians living close by? Who was the last Girgashite you met? It happens. It appears to be inevitable. Someday, the question will be, ‘How many Americans do you know?’ Nations, if they don’t disappear, always morph into something else.” (11/05/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2026/11/05/history-has-spoken-again-n2685926
- The good, the bad, and the vague in the new college accreditation rule
Source: Expression
by Michael Hurley“The Education Department’s final accreditation rule boosts campus speech protections in some places and invites trouble in others.” (11/05/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/the-good-the-bad-and-the-vague-in
- JFK, Assassination, and the National Security State
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“Ever since the U.S. government was converted to a national-security state after World War II, the national-security branch of the government — i.e., the military and the CIA — has wielded the power of assassination. Mind you, there was no constitutional amendment authorizing the federal government to wield this omnipotent, totalitarian-like power. It just automatically came with the conversion to a national-security state, whose inherent powers include assassination.” (11/05/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/11/05/jfk-assassination-and-the-national-security-state/
- A New Foreign Policy? Yes, While We Rebuild America’s Defenses
Source: American Greatness
by Stephen Bryen“No matter what the Democrats and Republicans think, reality is fast catching up with the US and its allies. The bottom line: over the next 5 years, perhaps longer, the US will need to use extreme care when picking fights with potential adversaries; at the same time, the American and allied defense industrial base needs significant reform. Naturally, this means the US approach to Russia, Europe, Asia, and China must adjust, and the US may have to accept accommodations with potential adversaries, things it would not have done only a few years ago. The US lives with a depleted arsenal, a defense industrial base mostly incapable of mass-producing weapons that have not performed up to expectations, and it faces technological and operational challenges that mostly were not expected. During the Obama and early Biden administrations, China was not considered much of a problem.” (11/05/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/11/05/a-new-foreign-policy-yes-while-we-rebuild-americas-defenses/
- Some Initial Thoughts About the Election: Blame Trump, Tariffs, and Corruption
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye“Republicans should take the war’s political consequences seriously. They should also examine the damage done by tariffs, concerns about corruption, and their own unwillingness to check the president. If their explanation for this election begins and ends with Iran, they’ll avoid confronting problems that were evident long before the war. That may make the defeat easier to explain to themselves. It won’t give voters much reason to trust them again.” (11/05/26)
https://exiledpolicy.substack.com/p/some-initial-thoughts-about-the-election
- From Golden State to Blackout State
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Wayne Winegarden & Kerry Jackson“By the end of 2045, ‘renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources’ must ‘supply 100% of retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers and 100% of electricity procured to serve all state agencies’ under Senate bill 100 (2018). To reach this target and maintain reliability, the state has been pairing solar power plants with battery backup systems. If all works as planned, the solar plants will provide electricity during the day, and the battery backup systems keep the lights on in the high-use evening hours when solar generators go dark. … Ensuring that there is sufficient electricity during the periods of extreme weather, not just during the expected conditions, is critical if California wants to avoid potential rolling blackouts (or worse).” (11/05/26)
https://fee.org/articles/from-golden-state-to-blackout-state/
- A Dangerous Woman: Dems Adopt Soviet Rhetoric to Condemn Stevens as Mentally Ill
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley“Haley Stevens is a dangerous woman. That message is echoing across liberal cable stations and websites. Only recently embraced as the best candidate for the Michigan Senate nomination, Stevens is now being portrayed as unstable and menacing by her self-described friends. Other Democrats launched into sexist attacks or declared her a ‘traitor’ that should be expelled from the party. Haley Stevens has the misfortune of now being an object lesson for anyone who stands against the far left. They are going to ‘hoist the wretch’ for all to see to deter anyone else standing in the way of the mob. She will not be alone. As soon as the House flipped, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the expected chair of the House Oversight Committee, posted a two-word message: ‘Lawyer up!’ Rage politics has little room for dissent or compromise.” (11/05/26)
- The Clock Is Ticking for Republicans to Move Their Priorities
Source: Washington Sun
by Al Weaver“Senate Republicans are staring down their last chance to move key priorities during the end-of-year lame-duck session after suffering a beating in the midterm elections. With the hourglass dwindling, Republican leaders are faced with decisions in the final weeks of unified government as they attempt to balance bipartisan year-end priorities with advancing party goals before handing over control to Democrats.” (11/05/26)
https://www.washingtonsun.com/congress/republicans-lame-duck-funding-government-debt-ceiling
- The Death of Religion?
Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
by Mark Movsesian‘One of the most important developments in American religion over the past several decades has been the rise of the ‘Nones’—people who tell pollsters they have no religious affiliation. According to the Pew Research Center, about 29% of American adults now fall into this category, compared with 16% in 2007. Among younger Americans, the figure is even higher. Many observers see these numbers as evidence of the continuing secularization of American society. A provocative new book challenges this conventional wisdom.” (11/05/26)
- How Trump’s Undermining of the Constitution Helped Cause a “Blue Tsunami”
Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
by Ilya Somin“Trump’s unconstitutional policies on tariffs, the Iran War, and immigration played a big role in his party’s enormous ‘Blue Tsunami’ election defeat.” (11/05/26)
- Iranian Strength Is What Killed The Republicans
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“Vice President JD Vance made the surprising admission on social media that Trump administration’s war with Iran was what caused the massive Democratic Party sweep of the midterm elections, stating plainly that ‘The reason we lost is the war.’ Saying ‘the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone’, Vance noted that a poll found Trump 2024 voters who ditched the president’s party in 2026 gave four main answers to the question of what the Republicans could do to win them back: ‘1) End the war, 2) Focus on cost of living/inflation, 3) Put America First , 4) Change our relationship to Israel.’ All four of these answers tie directly in to Trump’s decision to launch an unprovoked war of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The war itself, failing to put America first, and Washington’s grotesque alliance with the state of Israel are all straightforward references to Trump’s warmongering in the middle east.” (11/06/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/11/06/iranian-strength-is-what-killed-the-republicans/
- Way, Way Too Big to Steal
Source: Liberal Currents
by Adam Gurri“One thing is for certain: the prospects for 2028 are better than ever, and I don’t just mean the electoral math. I mean the literal security of the elections themselves. One fear that was expressed to me consistently throughout the year was that the administration would use its election interference efforts as a testing ground for what it would do in 2028. Well, those efforts were entirely pathetic and now they will have far, far fewer options in 2028 than they did this year.” (11/05/26)
- Flu Vaccine Studies: Pseudo-Randomized or Untrustworthy Results?
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Clayton J Baker, MD“Having yellow-stained fingers is associated with lung cancer, but we know that the association does not reflect causality. Yellow-stained fingers do not cause lung cancer. Rather, the association is explained by smoking — a confounder — a cause of both yellow fingers and lung cancer. Suppose a group of researchers reported that the association in question was not removed after adjustment for smoking status. Obviously, something is wrong, either in the data or in the way it was analyzed. Regardless of the reason, we will not trust any inference from that study, including the estimated effect of smoking. It is equivalent to rejecting a witness’s entire testimony after detecting a single relevant lie. That’s an analogy, of course, not a claim about intentional lying by the researchers.” (11/05/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/flu-vaccine-studies-pseudo-randomized-or-untrustworthy-results/
- Obesity — causes and cures
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie“Obesity in its modern, mass form is surprisingly recent. In America, adult rates were fairly stable at around one in seven from the early 1960s to the late 1970s. Then something changed. From about 1980 the line turned sharply upward, and by 2000 roughly three in ten adults were obese. By 2022 an estimated 107 million American adults, 42.5% of the adult population, were obese, up from 34.7 million (19.3%) in 1990. Britain followed the same curve about a decade behind. … The timing is the most useful clue. Genes did not change in 1980. Willpower did not suddenly collapse across two nations. Something in the environment shifted, and the evidence points mostly at what we eat rather than how much we move.” (11/05/26)
- Hamilton’s Counter-Revolutionary Republicanism
Source: Law & Liberty
by Michael Lucchese“Alexander Hamilton is well-remembered as a protagonist in America’s founding drama. He is celebrated widely as a war hero, foreign policy genius, architect of the economy, and framer of the Constitution. Even over the yawning distance of years, young Americans are inspired by the romance of his life. Conservatives and progressives alike claim his mantle to justify their pet projects. ‘There is an elegant memorial in Washington to Jefferson, but none to Hamilton,’ columnist George F. Will once observed. ‘However, if you seek Hamilton’s monument, look around. You are living in it.’ Though his Federalist Party failed, America became a deeply Hamiltonian country.” (11/05/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/hamiltons-counter-revolutionary-republicanism/
- Democracy Is Coming — To India and the USA?
Source: Gideon’s Substack
by Noah Millman“Acknowledging the feel that this ain’t exactly real, or it’s real but it ain’t exactly there.” (11/05/26)
https://gideons.substack.com/p/democracy-is-coming-to-india-and
- What Was Applied
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob“Yesterday, Donald Trump and the Republicans took the proverbial shellacking. We’ve seen this sort of thing before. It’s not unheard of. Americans repudiate failed programs, and Trump, who promised to keep the American people out of war did the precise opposite of what got him elected in the first place. Only by grace extended from the American people could the application of the varnish be withheld. … This could be a warning to all: the awfulness of your opponents will not stay the hand of shellac . . . er, citizen correction.” (11/05/26)
- Trump has the opportunity to change course and secure his legacy
Source: New York Post
by Miranda Devine“As we survey the wreckage of Republican political fortunes, it’s clear what comes next. Payback is the first priority of Democrats who want to use their victories to grind Republicans into the mud. You saw it in the gloating, Mamdani-esque victory speech from Michigan Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed, in which he sarcastically referred to Vice President JD Vance as ‘habibi’ who will have to eat crow when the VP swears him in. You saw it in Minnesota Sen.-elect Peggy Flanagan’s speech: ‘We will rip ICE apart.’ You saw it in the salivating from Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) about impeaching Trump. You saw it in the ugly threats against Elon Musk and ‘greedy billionaires’.” (11/05/26)
- I’ve Lost Faith in Human Progress: Have We Stalled?
Source: The Daily Economy
by Joakim Book“Housing is less affordable, governments are drowning in debt, and workers feel stuck. Has technological progress stopped translating into better lives?” (11/05/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/ive-lost-faith-in-human-progress-have-we-stalled/
- Markets Build Trust, Not Just Wealth
Source: The Daily Economy
by Logan Tantibanchachai“Markets bring together people who otherwise have little reason to cooperate. The voluntary economic relationships critics dismiss may help sustain civil society.” (11/05/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/markets-build-trust-not-just-wealth/
- The Republic We Inherited
Source: Law & Liberty
by Ilya Shapiro“Americans made it to our country’s 250th birthday without agreeing on whether the occasion calls for celebration or indictment. Some of our most influential institutions regard the Declaration of Independence as evidence for the prosecution. The men who proclaimed human equality owned slaves, don’t ya know, so the principles they proclaimed were fraudulent and the country they founded must spend its remaining days confessing its illegitimacy. A Nation Born in a Day: Visions of the American Founding offers a splendid corrective.” (11/05/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-republic-we-inherited/
- 2026 wasn’t the first time war swayed an election
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Martin Di Caro“If foreign policy could decide an election, then 1992 upended expectations. Barely eight months after the Soviet flag was lowered from the Kremlin for the last time, President George H. W. Bush found himself reminding Americans that he had led the USSR peacefully into history’s dustbin while also liberating Kuwait from the clutches of Saddam Hussein.” (11/05/26)
- The Goddess of the Nightclub
Source: Liberal Currents
by Katherine Alejandra Cross“What defines liberalism, and forever yokes it to its restive left-wing progeny, is the fundamental conviction that humanity can be improved in this life rather than the next. It’s hard to overstate how radical this idea was in the 18th and 19th centuries, and how the reaction against it still rages brushfire-hot. Indeed, there is an unbroken line between today’s cargo-cult neofascism and the earliest expressions of fundamentalist reaction. It is the battle of our time, in every hour of the modern world.” (11/05/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-goddess-of-the-nightclub/
- From Yemen to Sudan, Obama’s Catastrophe Spread Wide
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Joseph Solis-Mullen“The casual observer could be forgiven for wondering how the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a Sudanese paramilitary organization notorious for atrocities in Darfur, became powerful enough to challenge the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) for control of the country when its civilian government was overthrown in 2021. Believe it or not, the answer runs through the Global War on Terror, Washington’s disastrous handling of Yemen, and Barack Obama’s determination to placate Saudi Arabia. The connections might seem tenuous. They aren’t.” (11/05/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/from-yemen-to-sudan-obamas-catastrophe-spread-wide
- “Blue Wave” Means Nothing if We Don’t Stop the National Defense Authorization Act
Source: Common Dreams
by Melissa Garriga“Tuesday night’s election results proved that a majority of people in this country do not want war and genocide. Polling overwhelmingly showed that the war on Iran was one of the biggest motivating factors in voting. So why are we about to give the very people voters rejected an unprecedented $1.5 trillion budget to continue their reign of death and destruction? Why are we going to allow Congress to hand over the largest war budget in human history to weapons manufacturers and AI tech billionaires who work at the behest of known war criminals? In the next few weeks, Congress is set to pass what should be viewed as the deadliest piece of legislation of our time (the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)) or the country’s defense budget, as it is more commonly known.” (11/05/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/stop-trump-s-pentagon-budget
- Trump and the Hallmarks of 21st-Century Neo-Fascism
Source: CounterPunch
by Eric Toussaint“[R]ather than replicating the classic forms of historical fascism, Trump tends to use the state apparatus itself as an instrument of coercion to secure the loyalty of his supporters and to undermine local countervailing powers. He also seeks to control the institutions that produce and disseminate knowledge and information, to weaken countervailing powers and to impose his ideological conception of society. Trump’s imperialist policy therefore does not represent a break with US practices throughout the 20th century. On the contrary, it continues the various methods employed during that period—military interventions, coups d’état, sanctions, economic pressure, support for allied regimes, and control of strategic areas and resources—but with a notable difference in the rhetoric that accompanies them.” (11/05/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/11/05/trump-the-hallmarks-of-21st-century-neo-fascism/
- The Greatest Existential Risk of the Early 21st Century
Source: Antiwar.com
by Dan Steinbock“To dominate supply chains, the Trump administration is weaponizing the global AI race. Instead of learning from the lessons of postwar atomic regulation, the administration is reversing them, thereby paving the way for catastrophic risks.” (11/05/26)
- Gerald Gaus and the Open Society
Source: Freedom and Flourishing
by Dr. Edward W Younkins“Gerald Gaus’s The Open Society and Its Complexities (2021) is a response to three theses advanced by Friedrich A. Hayek regarding the Open Society. Hayek’s first thesis is that human beings are not made for a free society. Human evolved psychology makes us xenophobic, parochial, and egalitarian in ways that conflict with the diversity and impartiality of an Open Society. The second thesis is that the operation of institutions in the Open Society is so unclear that we cannot rationally evaluate, critique, or justify that type of society. The third thesis is that the Open Society cannot be governed.” (11/05/26)
https://www.freedomandflourishing.com/2026/11/gerald-gaus-and-open-society.html
- How Tariffs Became the Millstone That Sank the GOP
Source: The Dispatch
by Phillip W Magness“Within hours of Tuesday night’s rout, Vice President J.D. Vance had settled on an explanation: “The reason we lost is the war.” It is a convenient story. The war in Iran is unpopular, and the spike in gasoline prices that came with it certainly didn’t help Republicans. But the war is not what caused the blue wave. Tariffs were the millstone that sank the GOP ticket—and the White House had years of warning.” (11/05/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/tariffs-midterms-j-d-vance-donald-trump-republicans/
- The Korea Conundrum
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton“Perhaps, when we get right down to it, the threat that Pyongyang and Kim pose to the West is not provided by his dream of the world’s strongest army. Rather, it is one of the strongest arguments still in the world today of what the true fruits of socialism are.” (11/04/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/11/04/the-korea-conundrum/
- Underthrow Podcast, 11/05/26
Source: Underthrow
“Think Outside the Ballot Box.” (11/05/26)
- Rising, 11/05/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar looking at how some Democrat proposals, like the billionaires tax in California, were rejected by voters despite the party making massive gains in the midterms.” (11/05/26)
- Nonzero, 11/05/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“The Age of Imperialist Realism | Robert Wright & Daniel Bessner.” (11/05/26)
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 11/05/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Trump Says He May Destroy the Entire Country of Iran, US Ramps Up Sanctions on Cuba, and More.” (11/05/26)
- The Kyle Anzalone Show, 11/05/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Iran Achieved One of Its Core Objectives, A Political Defeat for President Trump.” (11/05/26)
- Kibbe on Liberty, episode 410
Source: Free the People
“Good Policy Is Good Politics.” (11/05/26)
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 11/05/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“The Shocking Truth About The Ukraine War, WIth Stephen Kinzer.” (11/05/26)
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 11/05/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Throws Vance Under Bus as MAGA Crackup Over Losses Turns Vicious.” (11/05/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/217607/trump-throws-vance-bus-maga-crackup-losses-turns-vicious
- The Briefing Podcast with Michael Waldman, 11/05/26
Source: Brennan Center for Justice
“Voters Demand Change.” (11/05/26)
- Bulwark Takes, 11/05/26
Source: The Bulwark
“Trump’s Crushing Defeat Just Changed How the World Sees America.” (11/05/26)
- Libertarian Angle, 11/05/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“The Horrors and Fallacies of Socialism with Don Boudreaux.” (11/05/26)
- Checks & Balances, 11/05/26
Source: Checks & Balances
“The Lawyers Fighting Back Against Trump.” (11/05/26)
https://chkbal.substack.com/p/the-lawyers-fighting-back-against
- The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen, 11/05/26
Source: The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen
“‘A Moral and Religious People’: Virtue and Civic Life.” (11/05/26)
https://rosenjeffrey.substack.com/p/a-moral-and-religious-people-virtue
- The Chris Hedges Report, 11/04/26
Source: The Chris Hedges Report
“How the Intl. Community Sold Out Gaza & Killed Itself in the Process (w/ Norm Finkelstein).” (11/04/26)
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/how-the-intl-community-sold-out-gaza
- Advisory Opinions, 11/05/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Legal Ramifications of a Bluenami.” (11/05/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/legal-ramifications-of-a-bluenami/
- The Tom Woods Show, episode 2810
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“The Fed Is Now Trapped by the Math.” (11/04/26)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2810-the-fed-is-now-trapped-by-the-math/
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 11/04/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Vance, Trump Admit Iran War Cost Midterms, Saudi Strikes Massacre 12 Civilians, and More.” (11/04/26)
- The DMZ, 11/04/26
Source: Washington Monthly
“The morning after the polls closed in the 2026 midterm elections, Washington Monthly Politics Editor Bill Scher and Washington Sun columnist Matt Lewis pored over the results and examined how they impact the futures of the Republican Party and Democratic Party.” (11/04/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/11/04/post-midterm-election-edition-of-the-dmz/
- So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, 11/04/26
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
“Trump vs. the Smithsonian: Who controls America’s history? w/ Jessica Dickinson Goodman.” (11/04/26)
- Bekah and Tyler Are Still Processing: The Midterm Elections
Source: Roads Go Ever On
“A recording from Bekah Graham and Tyler Harris’s live video.” (11/04/26)
https://bekahgwen.substack.com/p/bekah-and-tyler-are-still-processing